I wasn’t sure what to do. Alys’ tail was still wound around me, yet Nelaeryn had somehow shoved between us anyway. Their delighted chatter showed no signs of slowing any time soon.

  Before I could figure out how to proceed, Hagmar ventured close enough to clap me on the shoulder.

  “I’m glad to hear my kid… well, kids, will have a solid friend around,” the dwarf rumbled.

  I grinned right back at him. I could tell the man was still a little off-balance from the news that he would be having a whole extra child, but despite the mild panic, the doubled offspring appeared to have deepened his cheer rather than damaging it.

  “Of course. I hope our families’ friendship will only continue to grow in the future.” I found I even meant it sincerely, especially seeing the giddy happiness loop between Alys and Nelaeryn.

  Though, with Nasha and Amara joining in that loop, I was now solidly on the outside of the conversation, despite being literally attached to Alys. Somehow, they were already engaged in an intense discussion of baby clothing. And while I definitely wanted to be involved in every aspect of taking care of my future child, I thought it best not to intrude there yet.

  Thankfully, I did have something I wanted to ask Hagmar about.

  “It’s been a while since I checked in about that feeding paste. Any results?”

  “Ahhh, about that…”

  The dwarf looked suddenly sheepish and began fiddling with his beard. Though I found this amusing, I narrowed my eyes.

  “Yes?”

  “Well, the chickens seemed to take to it fine. I’ve been checking on the egg quality, and if anything, it’s only been growing. One of them even got broody, and we let ‘er have the eggs. The chicks hatched just the other day.”

  “Really? Is everything alright? Have they shown any changes compared to the regular stock?”

  “They’re a bit bigger, aye, but not too much. Besides that, I haven’t noticed anything. Took them to Nelaeryn, since she knows what to look out for better. She even knows a few spells to really check ’em. But she said they’re perfectly normal, extra healthy chicks.”

  “Excellent.”

  The news was a relief. It meant the paste would likely see use in the local chicken population, at the very least. I was looking forward to that. All on its own, greater access to eggs and poultry would provide sufficient justification for the continued production of the feed paste.

  Of course, Hagmar then felt the need to give me another surprise.

  “So, I saw that went well, and… I decided to include some of my sheep in the feeding, too. Been going well so far. Actually, better than well. The milk we’ve been getting from them tastes even better than before.”

  That was more splendid news, though it brought a question to mind.

  “Has Nelaeryn been drinking this milk?”

  Hagmar immediately shook his head. “No. I’ve been drinking it, though. Been separating it from the rest of the stock. I didn’t want to take risks with Nelaeryn’s health, because… well…”

  I nodded, understanding perfectly. “In that case, do you mind if I give you a checkup as well? Just to make sure there are no ill effects from the milk?”

  The dwarf nodded easily enough. After all, he was trusting me with his pregnant wife. He had no reason to hold back now.

  I repeated the same thing I’d done with Nelaeryn, except without a curse to risk agitating, I could apply my mana far more forcefully to get the details I needed. The dwarf was also in perfect health, likely as a result of the immune system boosting powder. I found no traces of poisonous or harmful elements.

  “The milk should be safe. I’d like a sample, just to make sure. And, of course, to taste and see it if it’s really as good as you say,” I teased lightly. “But if all of that fails to reveal any issues, I’d say you can start letting Nelaeryn have the milk.”

  Hagmar chuckled as he cast a glance in his wife’s direction. “She’ll like that. She’s upset with me that I refused to share.” His grin grew. “I might have praised the taste of it a little too much.”

  “Well, that’s a good way to get kicked out and sent back to your own house, but it is your choice. Anyway, I assume you want me to start making more of the feed, then? If the milk is safe? I can also —”

  “Thooorn.” Alys poked me in the side, making me blink as I turned to look at her. She was wearing such a radiant smile, I had to suppress the urge to kiss her right then and there. “Perfumes, please?”

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  I laughed at the puppy eyes she tried to use on me, no matter that I caved instantly.

  “Two samples of each?” I guessed, since both Nasha and Nelaeryn were watching our little exchange. She nodded. I quickly handed over the goods and let my dragoness brag to her friends with a smug grin on her face.

  “I apologize,” I said to Hagmar. “Where were we?”

  “You were offering me more of the feed, which I’d be happy to accept. Only if the milk is safe though, aye?”

  “Of course. What sort of impact do you think the paste will have if you start feeding it to all your animals?”

  I had some expectations and ideas of my own, but I wanted to hear the perspective of someone much more experienced with rearing animals. I expected that my tests would confirm the milk was perfectly fine. That meant the only remaining point of contention would be the effects of the paste on newborn lambs. But Hagmar hadn’t brought that up yet, and after the news of the chicks, I was much more confident that nothing untoward would happen in that regard.

  “Hmmm. Won’t lie, ya made one impressive feed. The chickens we’ve been feeding it to have been producing almost double the eggs they normally would. If the results are even a fraction as effective for my sheep, well… I think we can finally start seeing some lamb and mutton on the table.”

  “That would be splendid,” I breathed longingly, drawing a laugh from the dwarf.

  “Sorry for barging in, but you’re talking about some kind of special feed, right?” Soren suddenly came around the table, avoiding the female cluster. “I couldn’t really hear you properly over the chatter, and I only just escaped from Ama.”

  “Well, you are ahead of me there,” I said dryly as I pointed down at Alys’ tail. It actually tightened around me for a moment, showing me that my dragoness was somehow paying attention to our conversation, even while chatting away about the perfumes Amara and I had made.

  They seemed to be a hit, from what I could tell. Nasha was thoroughly enraptured by the snowdrop and the witch hazel. She quite liked the pine scent, too, though she preferred the sweeter scents.

  If I’d overheard correctly, she’d claimed that she could probably wear both the snowdrop and the pine perfume safely in the field. Witch hazel was a bit too ‘spicy’, so it might catch attention if someone suddenly caught a whiff of it. Still, I was happy to know I had managed to make something she enjoyed and could use.

  —

  By the time we extricated ourselves from the grumpy couple, we did so with two pails of milk and a whole package of eggs. We had also been promised some chickens of our own, if we wanted them, once they were grown enough.

  Alys seemed intrigued by the idea, though I wasn’t sure she understood how tricky it would be to keep poultry alive next to a forest. To be honest, I didn’t know the specifics either, but I doubted it would be easy. Yet if she wanted to try, I would support her. It wouldn’t take much effort to make some extra animal feed for our own use.

  I was also pleasantly surprised by how naturally I’d been able to socialize with Hagmar and Soren. Our chat had meandered at first in search of shared interests, but then we’d settled on sharing cute stories about our respective spouses. That was always fun, but especially when said spouses were within earshot and able to react occasionally.

  I didn’t think I could ever get tired of making Alys blush, so it was time well spent, in my opinion.

  Now, however, we were headed for a conversation that promised to be far less enjoyable. I suggested delaying our visit to the elders further, perhaps by looking for the town’s tailor, but Alys shot me a look that told me to behave.

  So it was that the five us, including Nasha, went directly to the Hall.

  With two fire-aligned draconians in our party, the warmth of Arandel’s kitchen did not feel quite as jarring as I’d usually experienced after entering from the cold weather outside. The hum of conversation did, however. I looked around to see an unexpectedly large number of people packed inside the Hall’s confines.

  It took me a moment to realize why there were so many townsfolk indulging in warmth and company on this particular day, but it really shouldn’t have. Not with Winter’s icy grip ruling over the world.

  There was plenty of work that petered out during Winter months. I supposed it made plenty of sense that people would choose to converge in the Hall rather than staying inside their homes. Swiftband wasn’t rich in entertainment options as a general rule, and I doubted that the settlers had brought along many items to break Winter monotony, specifically. Practicality was king when preparing to survive on the frontier. Books and games were unlikely to make it onto the shortlist of things people prioritized.

  I did, however, spot several tables centered around a card or board game. Clearly, a few people had managed to bring some tools for Winter recreation. Or had the elders done so? I wouldn’t be surprised if Hyel had ensured there was equipment at hand to bring people together and get ahead of the tension potentially produced by boredom and long Winters.

  The crowd was not the only surprise waiting for us in the Hall. Kiri was sitting at a table a little off to the side, like a solitary patch of brambles within a field of flowers. No one was paying attention to her other than a certain fox, who was currently laying out several plates of food for the Winter fae.

  “Ooohhh!” called Arandel’s teasing voice. “Look at who’s finally decided to show their faces around here!” As always, the elven cook had spotted us with impressive speed, and was now making her way over with a grin on her face. “Oh! And who’s this? We haven’t been introduced yet!”

  “Arandel.” Alys happily stepped forward to give the elf a hug. “These are my parents, Amara and Soren. They came along with my grandmother. You probably didn’t miss her arrival, hrrrm?”

  Alys was clearly holding back laughter as Arandel’s expression twisted into a playful scowl.

  “No, I didn’t miss it! Do you have any idea how many people rushed in here, shouting about a dragon?! A lot! My grandfather had to spend the entire day calming people down afterwards.”

  “Well, he’s the one who invited Grandmother to come in the first place, so that’s only fair,” Alys scoffed.

  I hid a smile. That wasn’t exactly what had happened, seeing as Hyel had simply alerted The Molten Expanse about the invading soldiers. But it wasn’t too far off the mark, either.

  “Where are my manners?” Arandel exclaimed. “Please, come in, come in. Find a seat, and I’ll whip something up for you. You can join Kiri. She only just arrived a little while ago, too.”

  The elf motioned towards the fae and shot the fox a challenging look when he happened to glance our way.

  I shouldn’t have found it so amusing that Arandel was this protective of her kitchen, after the fox had all but stolen it from her a couple of times, but I did. I also vindictively enjoyed Ritsu’s wince at the sight of her continued displeasure.

  “Shall we, then?” I grinned. “The elders can wait a tiny bit longer.”

  Alys sighed. She did nod, though, so I counted it a victory.

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